Let's knit on! For many of us, it's a way of life and this blog is about sharing that experience….and a way to share the experiences of Skein Lane Knitters. I love knitting and it is indeed a way of life for me.

Archive for October, 2015

Wanting to share the latest on my needles – The Ruffled Scarf. I mentioned the yarn purchase of Acadia yarn in the post “On the Knitting Trails Again”.I was inspired by Margot’s scarf…..and as I most often do I modified the pattern. Here’s what is different with mine….slightly smaller gauge, longer and I will add the ruffle in a different yarn – Madelinetosh Pashmina Tart Red.

Margot’s Version

Acadia upclose

Carolyn’s Version

One skein of Acadia down and one to go…..then on to the ruffle! By the way I use to play in ceramics moons ago. This is one of my renditions that I cleaned, painted and had fired. This probably qualifies as one of my relics now.

This is a great chance to stay out of the crowds and shop this event for your jewelry gifts. Kimberly and Janie will be featuring new jewelry. You can visit their Etsy stores – Kimberly’s Craftini and Janie Rose Jewelry to get a sense of the beauty they create. I am a huge fan of their jewelry and several pieces are now in my collection! ♥♥♥

During her first week of life she met many of her family….and, in particular, Aria met her grandma Sundee’s maternal family at a family brunch gathering a week after she was born. This little girl, born weighing 9lbs 2 ozs, is just as cute as can be…..and of course, I am not biased!

WhooHoo! Done! It doesn’t seem all that long ago that I had the great pleasure of meeting some of my cousins (via Ancestry.com) – Louise, her son Steve and wife Tammy – a little over year ago or was it two? I ask such questions because life is full and moving at a rapid pace!

Anyway….sometime after Louise asked if I would knit a hat for her….hard to say no…but unknown to Louise ….my knitting plate was pretty full. Louise has horses and every early morning she is out with her horses…like feeding. Many of us feed animals in the morning but most likely it’s our dogs and cats in the kitchen. In this case, Louise leaves her home to care for her horse(s)…reminds me of my lifelong friend Mary who has always had a horse or two in her backyard. Wait….do I need to knit a hat for Mary now? I think I do….she has a major birthday coming up in December.

Back to Louise….both our hearts were happy today. She received the hat and said ” Got your Beanie today and it fit good. That will keep my head warm this winter. Thank you so much. Love it!” I love it that Louise was happy! That’s what knitting and gifting are all about…..there are more things but for this conversation this fits. The fiber choice wasBrown Sheep’s Lambspride Superwash – Color Rose Quartz. I particularly like Fiber Trends Pattern AC-20 for this hat style….the finishing at the stop is a nice feature. I generally am not a fan of superwash wool but Lambspride Superwash is really good.

Now onto finishing Elf slippers for my niece Betsy…bless her heart…she has been tolerant that her brother’s scarf re: Cornell College, her cousin’s Shelby’s baby Aria’s blanket, and Louise’s hat have moved ahead of my project for her. Back on track….damn (did I say that publicly) one of the yarns for this project went AWOL. Where could it have gone? I shared that with a co-worker in my day-time life and she asked if it might be in the closet. I broke out laughing…..my whole house/Skein Lane Studio is a closet. Oh where is that bulky superwash named Blue Rifff? Oh well….not to worry…ordered more today for Skein Lane Studio and I can “buy” from stock.

Betsy really you will get these Elfie slippers for this Christmas. She still gets a present along with the Elf slippers for this year!

Oh where has the time gone? With that prelude…note that the next several posts will be what’s currently happening as well as catching up on what has quickly gone before us.

As so many of you know yesterday was an exciting day for our knitting community….Avenue Yarns opened for their first day of business. I was there a couple hours after opening and was so happy for Karen and her team that the store was bustling! I did not need but I did buy!

As it relates to Avenue Yarns and my own retailing experience with Skein Lane’s store front I want to share what I posted on Face Book this past week…….Reflecting on retailing…..think it was in my blood early on….pre-school years my sister and I use to play grocery store by stocking Dad’s shelf in the garage with empty cereal boxes…..fast forward….one of my first jobs was both as a “soda jerk” and retailing in our small town drugstore. Many years later I had my own retail store Skein Lane…..I drew on many of my early retail experiences and my love of yarn and the crafting of it. Today I got to “dip” back into the retail world ever so briefly to be one of many helping hands to Karen as she and her team were readying for tomorrow’s opening of Avenue Yarns in Albany. Tomorrow will be a fun day for all!

I know I also posted on FB that I did not need yarn…..but want and need are two entirely different things. While I was helping Avenue Yarns for a very short time with tagging on Friday….I fell for one of the yarns. Two skeins of Adacia from The Fibre Company are now on my knitting table waiting to be wound into balls. Acadia is a hand wash yarn with the fiber content being 60% Merino Wool, 20% Alpaca and 20% Silk. This yarn is a perfect match for the pattern that I want to mimic from Margot’s recently finished Ruffled Scarf pattern. This yarn will be on my needles tomorrow.